I
have to admit that I like Wallace & Gromit but
I also have to admit that I totally forgot about them
for a couple of years until just recently when I heard
they would be featured in a videogame based on an
upcoming movie. They're like a couple of friendly
guys you meet in a bar when you're out of town on
a weekend that you have a lot of laughs with but lose
contact immediately after closing time.

Wallace
& Gromit have a very identifiable animation style
that is reminiscent of stop-motion claymation. It's
done digitally but the effect is very full and three
dimensional looking. The other fascinating quality
is the personalities of the characters. Both Wallace
and Gromit are likeable losers that have a realistic,
down-to-earth quality that makes them more human than
most humans. It almost borders on "cute"
and if it were any closer, I would be mad for having
to suffer through it.

Overrun
with rabbits, Wallace & Gromit are saddled with
the task of rounding the varmints up - in a professional
and humane manner. Wallace is an inventor and goes
about creating a variety of gadgets to aid in the
objective. One of the most useful of the devices is
the Bungun which sucks them up and temporarily stores
them in a bunny pen - until they are slaughtered with
an axe and eaten in a bloody frenzy. Just kidding!
I couldn't resist. Other devices include an electric
screwdriver, an airblaster and a female bunny decoy.
There is also a bunny hop device that allows your
character to make some incredibly large jumps to cover
a lot of ground in a short period of time - kind of
like a rabbit.

Along
with Wallace and Gromit (a dog in case you didn't
know), is another playable character named, Hutch.
He's a rabbit and also has unique moves that you will
have to put to use throughout the levels. All of the
characters can be switched on the fly and you'll need
these different abilities to complete certain objectives.
Hey, it adds variety. Who's gonna' complain?

Along
with platforming elements there are also puzzles to
solve and items to unlock. A day and night cycle offer
different objectives during each time of day. The
rabbits turn into monsters during the night which
makes them a little harder to catch - not to mention
dangerous. Using various manholes scattered throughout
the map you can quickly change from day to night and
vice versa. Hey, it adds control. Who's gonna' complain?

Plenty
of cutscenes ensure that you'll keep abreast of the
story but more than anything they provide pure entertainment.
The animation quality is fantastic, even rivaling
the movie. The voiceacting, sound effects and soundtrack
are all top shelf. Some of the quality does slip when
it returns to the playable version of the game but
that's nothing unusual.

Compared
to most movie-inspired games, this one is certainly
in with the best of the bunch. It may not be the most
compelling or memorable game but if you want to hang
out with a few old friends for a couple of days I
can't think of a better game to do it with. The lack
of a multi-player mode and the general lack of replay
value forces me to recommend renting this.